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Day of Chaos #3
Judge Dredd Day Of Chaos Fallout
After the Sov viral attack, Mega-City One is a mere shadow of its former self. The population has fallen from 400 million to 50 million and the infrastructure is devastated. Inundated with the problems that come with a large scale disaster, a hugely depleted Justice Department are barely able to maintain control. Legendary lawman Judge Dredd is on the frontline, distributing order amongst the chaos - but will the guilt he feels for what has happened finally lead to his demise?
240 pages, Paperback
First published June 5, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 19, 2014
A hit and miss follow up to Day of Chaos: Fourth Faction and Day of Chaos: Endgame. Both were significantly better than this spotty collection. Fourth Faction and Endgame seemed more like one long story and Day of Chaos: Fallout was more of a compilation of several shorter ones (13 in all). Some hit their mark and others didn’t. John Wagner, Alan Grant, Rob Williams, and Michael Carroll all contributed to the scripting of this title. Each of them wrote at least one story that I found myself enjoying.
PJ Holden, Trevor Hairsine, James Harren, Dave Taylor, Laurence Campbell, Ben Willsher, Nick Dyer, Andrew Currie, Inaki Miranda, John Burns, and Jon Davis-Hunt provided the visuals in this one. This is probably where I found the book coming up short. There were a couple that were to my taste, but overall, it wasn’t as solid as the last two collections from an artwork standpoint.
A few of the stories that I did enjoy included Innocent by Williams and Campbell. It’s about a literal cure for the epidemic of crime.
The Pits by Grant and Davis-Hunt which sees Joe team up with Judge Anderson once again. Liked the artwork in this one as well. Reminded me of Juan Jose Ryp and a little of Frank Quitely.
Cypher by Carroll and Miranda and Skulls by Williams and Hairsine were chock-fulla action from beginning to end and both made for lively reads.
Finally, Wastelands and Bender, both written by Wagner and drawn by Taylor and Willsher respectively, brought the collection to a satisfying conclusion. Wastelands being about corporate crime and Bender was sort of a tragedy about a good Judge in a bad world.
Overall, I'd say this book is only required reading for Dredd-heads or fans of the first two collections. Otherwise, you can probably give this one a pass.
PJ Holden, Trevor Hairsine, James Harren, Dave Taylor, Laurence Campbell, Ben Willsher, Nick Dyer, Andrew Currie, Inaki Miranda, John Burns, and Jon Davis-Hunt provided the visuals in this one. This is probably where I found the book coming up short. There were a couple that were to my taste, but overall, it wasn’t as solid as the last two collections from an artwork standpoint.
A few of the stories that I did enjoy included Innocent by Williams and Campbell. It’s about a literal cure for the epidemic of crime.
The Pits by Grant and Davis-Hunt which sees Joe team up with Judge Anderson once again. Liked the artwork in this one as well. Reminded me of Juan Jose Ryp and a little of Frank Quitely.
Cypher by Carroll and Miranda and Skulls by Williams and Hairsine were chock-fulla action from beginning to end and both made for lively reads.
Finally, Wastelands and Bender, both written by Wagner and drawn by Taylor and Willsher respectively, brought the collection to a satisfying conclusion. Wastelands being about corporate crime and Bender was sort of a tragedy about a good Judge in a bad world.
Overall, I'd say this book is only required reading for Dredd-heads or fans of the first two collections. Otherwise, you can probably give this one a pass.
January 7, 2018
If you've read the two previous volumes, Day of Chaos: The Fourth Faction and Day of Chaos: Endgame you will have experienced perhaps the greatest Dredd epic for three decades. I loved the build up in the first and the relentless, pitiless velocity of second. This volume, however is a different animal. Whereas the first two were scripted exclusively by John Wagner this is a compilation of stories from an array of 2000ad writers. Moreover, it's not not a unified narrative, rather semi-related stories culled from progs and the Megazine spanning a period from the immediate aftermath to events taking place a full year after the Day of Chaos.
As such this runs hold and cold. Mostly it works but there are some duds so it is not, unlike the first two volumes, an essential purchase. Stories as follows:
DEBRIS
A five-parter that concerns a city block so well run and defended durin D0C that the block City-Def have declared independence from Mega-City. Nice exposure of Justice Department resourcing difficulties and the implications of Colonial Marines being deployed to the streets.
INNOCENT
A missed opportunity. This could have been an interesting exploration of what law enforcement ultimately means. An ambitious young tek judge develops a serum that irradicates crime in the mind of anyone who comes into contact with it. Is it just to police a deliberately docile and enfeebled population? A weird twist cuts the story short and the implications are never returned to. Odd and slightly disjointed.
PAYBACK
Further exploration of the tension between the Marines and the Judges. Does not really go anywhere.
SEALED
One off, scripted by Michael Carroll. A group of looters break into an apartment and discover a boy in a bubble. Nice fractured narrative structure with first-person revelation after the fact. Very good.
THE PITS
Satisfying team up between Dredd and Anderson, demonstrating the innate bond the two have between them. After 30 years of working together on and off they almost finish each others' sentences. Fantastic ending.
SAVE HIM
Catatonic Psi-Cadet Salas has a message for Dredd and it almost kills the old man. Relatively interesting as it explores Dredd's own guilt at causing Day of Chaos but it is rendered sort of pointless as a justified Joe just walks away at the conclusion.
WOLVES
Unusual side angle to the Day of Chaos aftermath that reveals how citizens of Sov descent, like the mutants of Tour of Duty before them, are relentlessly targeted by angry mobs. Nice conclusion and I liked the way the Sov mobster was drawn like Paulie Walnuts from The Sopranos.
CYPHER
Two-parter about a VIP assassination attempt. Fabulously unrelenting kinetic action but rendered oddly pointless in its denouement. We get the who and the what part of the murder attempt but the writer seems to have forgotten to provide the why.
THE FORSAKEN
Now, this is compelling. A group of ten cadets are left behind when Justice Department pulls out of Sector 53 on Chaos Day. Dredd and Dolman investigate what happened to each one. This is told beautifully, moving from Mega City Two, Uranium City, and back to the Meg. The narrative is fractured and loops back on itself time and again. Excellent.
SKULLS
Half decent mini story with Dredd going up against a very tough gang of Judge killers. SJS Judge Gerhardt makes an appearance for about a nanosecond but his continued conflict with Dredd fizzles and goes nowhere.
POWER STRUGGLE
Fun one-off examination of how Accounts Division deals with crucial city infrastructure in the hands of the private sector. I'm not sure we've visited this territory since the first PJ Maybe story about Justice Department trousers. Enjoyable with a great final couple of panels, it does however contain a mild spoiler if you are reading the collected works in order and have thus not got around to Trifecta.
WASTELANDS
Another story dealing with how the Justice Department interacts with private capital. This revolves around the sale and attempted purchase of an intact city block in the middle of an otherwise devastated sector. Always nice to see quick-witted lawyers going up against street judges.
BENDER
John Wagner-scripted five-parter about a recently returned-to-the-streets Judge Lock partnered with a certain Judge Bender. Bender pushes the rule of law to the very limit and this causes a clash of ideals between his iron fist policing and Lock's more liberal approach. A refreshing and unpredictable ending.
As such this runs hold and cold. Mostly it works but there are some duds so it is not, unlike the first two volumes, an essential purchase. Stories as follows:
DEBRIS
A five-parter that concerns a city block so well run and defended durin D0C that the block City-Def have declared independence from Mega-City. Nice exposure of Justice Department resourcing difficulties and the implications of Colonial Marines being deployed to the streets.
INNOCENT
A missed opportunity. This could have been an interesting exploration of what law enforcement ultimately means. An ambitious young tek judge develops a serum that irradicates crime in the mind of anyone who comes into contact with it. Is it just to police a deliberately docile and enfeebled population? A weird twist cuts the story short and the implications are never returned to. Odd and slightly disjointed.
PAYBACK
Further exploration of the tension between the Marines and the Judges. Does not really go anywhere.
SEALED
One off, scripted by Michael Carroll. A group of looters break into an apartment and discover a boy in a bubble. Nice fractured narrative structure with first-person revelation after the fact. Very good.
THE PITS
Satisfying team up between Dredd and Anderson, demonstrating the innate bond the two have between them. After 30 years of working together on and off they almost finish each others' sentences. Fantastic ending.
SAVE HIM
Catatonic Psi-Cadet Salas has a message for Dredd and it almost kills the old man. Relatively interesting as it explores Dredd's own guilt at causing Day of Chaos but it is rendered sort of pointless as a justified Joe just walks away at the conclusion.
WOLVES
Unusual side angle to the Day of Chaos aftermath that reveals how citizens of Sov descent, like the mutants of Tour of Duty before them, are relentlessly targeted by angry mobs. Nice conclusion and I liked the way the Sov mobster was drawn like Paulie Walnuts from The Sopranos.
CYPHER
Two-parter about a VIP assassination attempt. Fabulously unrelenting kinetic action but rendered oddly pointless in its denouement. We get the who and the what part of the murder attempt but the writer seems to have forgotten to provide the why.
THE FORSAKEN
Now, this is compelling. A group of ten cadets are left behind when Justice Department pulls out of Sector 53 on Chaos Day. Dredd and Dolman investigate what happened to each one. This is told beautifully, moving from Mega City Two, Uranium City, and back to the Meg. The narrative is fractured and loops back on itself time and again. Excellent.
SKULLS
Half decent mini story with Dredd going up against a very tough gang of Judge killers. SJS Judge Gerhardt makes an appearance for about a nanosecond but his continued conflict with Dredd fizzles and goes nowhere.
POWER STRUGGLE
Fun one-off examination of how Accounts Division deals with crucial city infrastructure in the hands of the private sector. I'm not sure we've visited this territory since the first PJ Maybe story about Justice Department trousers. Enjoyable with a great final couple of panels, it does however contain a mild spoiler if you are reading the collected works in order and have thus not got around to Trifecta.
WASTELANDS
Another story dealing with how the Justice Department interacts with private capital. This revolves around the sale and attempted purchase of an intact city block in the middle of an otherwise devastated sector. Always nice to see quick-witted lawyers going up against street judges.
BENDER
John Wagner-scripted five-parter about a recently returned-to-the-streets Judge Lock partnered with a certain Judge Bender. Bender pushes the rule of law to the very limit and this causes a clash of ideals between his iron fist policing and Lock's more liberal approach. A refreshing and unpredictable ending.
March 2, 2021
This is the third book in the Judge Dredd: Day Of Chaos series. Only, it's not really. Judge Dredd co-creator John Wagner's mega-epic serial Day Of Chaos was collected in two volumes: The Fourth Faction and Endgame, but Fallout is an anthology of stories set in the aftermath of the cataclysmic Chaos Day rather than a continuous narrative and features the work of writers who are not John Wagner (although two of his stories do round out the book).
It is a fine compendium of tales post Chaos Day and the individual stories are fast paced and intriguing. The main theme linking everything together is that Dredd's city, Mega-City One, is falling into hell and everyone seemingly blames Dredd in one way or another. The artwork is also fine but the overall tone is inconsistent, which is perhaps understandable given that no less than 11 artists are credited.
My only gripe, if you can call it that, is that there is a lot of set-ups for future stories but very little pay-off for a self contained volume. I just wonder if there will be a fourth Day Of Chaos collection. This is a worthwhile purchase but don't buy it without reading The Fourth Faction and Endgame first.
It is a fine compendium of tales post Chaos Day and the individual stories are fast paced and intriguing. The main theme linking everything together is that Dredd's city, Mega-City One, is falling into hell and everyone seemingly blames Dredd in one way or another. The artwork is also fine but the overall tone is inconsistent, which is perhaps understandable given that no less than 11 artists are credited.
My only gripe, if you can call it that, is that there is a lot of set-ups for future stories but very little pay-off for a self contained volume. I just wonder if there will be a fourth Day Of Chaos collection. This is a worthwhile purchase but don't buy it without reading The Fourth Faction and Endgame first.
December 30, 2020
A really interesting series of vignettes within the world of Judge Dredd. I love that we see the world through the eyes of people who aren't Dredd and all of the pieces effectively explore this idea of justice within a devasted landscape and whether the law or even morality has a place where survival is not guaranteed. I think out of all the stories bender feels a little out of place and I don't think its exploration of the abuse of power is particularly well done or maybe it just doesn't feel particularly unique. The pits is probably my favorite out of them I just think Anderson's struggle with death and the depravity of humanity particularly fascinating. But yeah just a really well-written series of stories that fully understand and use the setting of mega city one really well.
September 17, 2018
The chaos bug has run its course; much of Mega City One is in ruins and what remains of the Justice Department has their hands full maintaining law and order.
The stories in this collection are mostly independent of each other (with occasional overlapping characters) and tell the stories of Judge Dredd and various other characters (both Judges and citizens) as they go about their lives in the aftermath of the Chaos bug.
The stories in this collection are mostly independent of each other (with occasional overlapping characters) and tell the stories of Judge Dredd and various other characters (both Judges and citizens) as they go about their lives in the aftermath of the Chaos bug.
March 31, 2022
Recent Reads: Judge Dredd - Day Of Chaos - Fallout. The final part of John Wagner's reshaping of the Judge Dredd saga explores the shattered ruins of a shrunken Mega City One, as Judges struggle to reimpose their order on a broken world. Sometimes we just carry on in the old way.
January 16, 2024
I did like the whole Chaos Day storyline and this collection of stories continues it pretty decently. Nice collection of aftermath stories.
February 12, 2024
After the Chaos Day
A series of short tales following the devastation of Chaos Day. No real through line here but this is an entertaining set of stories
A series of short tales following the devastation of Chaos Day. No real through line here but this is an entertaining set of stories
August 30, 2024
The feel-bad vibes continue in Mega City One in the aftermath of Day Of Chaos.
June 20, 2015
Stories from different angles set in the wake of the biggest event in 2000 AD for some time. Some are large scale and some much smaller, which gives the collection a nice variety.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews